[Earthview Wonders] No.1007: Lake Balkhash🇰🇿

Lake Balkhash is the largest lakes in Central Asia, and belongs to an endorheic (closed) basin shared by Kazakhstan and China, with a small portion in Kyrgyzstan. The basin drains into the lake via seven rivers, the primary of which is the Ili River, bringing the majority of the riparian inflow. The Ili is fed by precipitation, largely vernal snowmelt, from the mountains of China’s Xinjiang region. Like the Aral Sea, it is shrinking as a result of the diversion of water from rivers that feed it. The lake is divided by a strait into two distinct parts. The western part is fresh water, while the eastern half is saline. The eastern part is on average 1.7 times deeper than the western section. Major economic activities in the area include mining, ore processing and fishing.

The local scenery on the ground of Lake Balkhash in spring is as follows.

(日本語) Archives

(日本語) Archives

Sanefumi Sammy Shoji

Born in Malaysia, spent his youth in South East Asia and Los Angeles, U.S.. Strongly moved by Japanese science documentary TV program “The Miracle Planet” in fifth grade, grew strong interest in space and Earth, and majored planetary science at graduate school. Was engaged in international financing transactions for 10 years at a U.S. investment bank and a Japanese investment firm. Established LiVEARTH, Inc. in 2014 with a mission to “provide Earth-overviewing perspective to the world”.